Duke's Department of Psychology & Neuroscience welcomes Dr. Bridgette Martin Hard, who will be joining P&N as an Associate Professor of the Practice on July 1, 2017. Dr. Hard received her PhD in Psychology from Stanford University and currently leads Stanford’s Psychology One Program. She also offers a year-long teacher training program for PhD students and advanced undergraduates to develop their teaching skills and discover creative ways to integrate research and teaching. "Joining the faculty at Duke is a… read more about Welcome Bridgette Martin Hard »
P&N Clinical Doctoral Student Aaron Reuben of the Moffitt and Caspi Group is the first author of a study finding that childhood exposure to lead can affect an adult decades later, impairing cognitive development. Read about the story in NPR, Reuters Health, and the Washington Post. A .pdf link to the study can be found here. read more about Childhood exposure to lead affects IQ decades later, study finds »
Congratulations to the following P&N doctoral students who have received 2017-2018 Duke Graduate School Fellowships: Nadia Brashier- Philip J. Baugh Fellowship Ali Giusto- Dissertation Research Travel Award: International and Aleane Webb Dissertation Research Fellowship Michele Lanpher- Aleane Webb Dissertation Research Fellowship Allison Meyer- Aleane Webb Dissertation Research Fellowship Summer Rearch Fellowship for Third-Year Ph.D. Students and Beyond: Hannah Moshontz Alyssa VanDenburg Kibby… read more about P&N Doctoral Students Receive Fellowships »
Congratulations to P&N Grad Student Brenda Yang, recipient of Duke's 2017 Merritt Award for Science Journalism. Yang won the award for her July 2016 Scientific American article "Are Our Scientific Heroes Too Heroic?," according to the announcement posted on the Pratt School of Engineering Website. "The judges praised Yang’s work as wonderfully inspiring and self-reflective, while courageously taking the standard narrative – that famous scientists are smarter and more successful than the rest of us… read more about Brenda Yang wins Duke's 2017 Merritt Award for Science Journalism »
Congratulations to P&N alumna Shirley M. Collado, who is the newly named ninth president of Ithaca College. Dr. Collado is a 1999 Graduate of P&N's Clinical Psychology Program, where the title of her dissertation was "The Perceived Racism Scale for Latina/os: a Multidimensional Assessment of the Experience of Racism among Latina/os." In a recent video message, Collado is congratulated by a number of colleagues, including P&N Professor Emeritus Susan Roth. Roth reflects on Dr. Collado's time as a doctoral student… read more about P&N Alumna Shirley Collado Named President of Ithaca College »
The Undergraduate Studies Office is now accepting applications for the 2017-2018 Costanzo Undergraduate Teaching Fellowships. Costanzo fellows serve as TAs for Introductory Psychology. Please contact Dr. Angie Vieth (azvieth@duke.edu) for more information. The application deadline is Friday, March 10. read more about Now accepting applications, 2017-2018 Costanzo Undergraduate Teaching Fellowships »
The results are in - the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers reports that five P&N Ph.D. students matched to top clinical internships. Once again, P&N had a 100% match in clinical psychology internships. Congratulations to the following students, and best wishes as they prepare to move forward to the final stage of doctoral training in clinical psychology. Caitlin Fang Duke University Medical Center Adult-CBT Concentration Lori Keeling Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center Lebanon,… read more about Clinical Psychology Internships 2017-2018 »
Congratulations to P&N PhD alumnus David V. Smith, who has been designated as an "APS Rising Star" by the Association for Psychological Science. The Rising Star designation recognizes outstanding psychological scientists in the earliest stages of their research career post-PhD whose innovative work has already advanced the field and signals great potential for their continued contributions. Smith is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Temple University. Be sure to visit his P&N alumni… read more about Dr. David V. Smith Designated APS Rising Star »
New research from the Tobias Egner Lab reveals how the brain learns to link external cues to a focused mindset. Read the full story in Duke Today: https://today.duke.edu/CaudateNucleus The study was also covered in other international publications: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4157880/Celebrity-spotting-test-super-focuses-brain.html https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/01/170125145753.htm read more about P&N researchers pinpoint brain structure that links environmental cues to enhanced focus »
Photos from P&N's inaugural mentoring dinner. read more about P&N Mentoring Dinner for 1st year graduate students »
Congratulations to P&N's Makeba Wilbourn, who has received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). This is the highest honor bestowed by the United States Government on science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their research. She was one of 102 scientists and researchers to receive the award. President Obama made the announcement on Friday, January 9th, according to a press release from whitehouse.gov. "I congratulate these outstanding scientists and engineers on… read more about Makeba Wilbourn honored by President Obama, receives Presidential Early Career Award »
Congratulations to P&N Professor Mike Tomasello and his colleagues, whose study on mind reading in great apes has been chosen as one of the top 10 breakthroughs of 2016 by Science Magazine. The Breakthrough of the Year is widely recognized as one of the highest distinctions in science. The mind-reading skill, known as theory of mind, was previously thought to be present only in humans. The study challenges that assumption, using a man dressed in a King Kong outfit who pretends to be misinformed about… read more about Tomasello Study a Top Breakthrough of 2016 »
Data from a recent P&N brain imaging study found that subjects who had a relatively greater activity in the prefrontal cortex while completing math problems from memory also reported having better emotion regulation skills compared to their peers. “Our work provides the first direct evidence that the ability to regulate emotions like fear and anger reflects the brain’s ability to make numerical calculations in real time,” said Matthew Scult, a 5th-year P&N Graduate Student in the lab of the study’s senior… read more about Matt Scult: Emotion Regulation, Mathmatical Skills Linked »
We are pleased to announce Jennifer Acosta as this year’s winner of the Bruner Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research. Jennifer is a Psychology major and is also completing the certificate in Child and Family Policy. She serves as a Teaching Assistant in Introductory Psychology. She is particularly interested in the experience of 1st generation college students, and worked with Dr. Mark Leary to analyze data relevant to this population from the you@duke program. She spent a summer at… read more about Jennifer Acosta receives Bruner Award »
The Department of Psychology & Neuroscience at Duke University invites applications for a tenure-track assistant professor position in Behavioral and Systems Neuroscience, to start in summer 2018. We seek outstanding applicants with the potential to develop an innovative and externally funded research program and motivation to engage in undergraduate and graduate teaching. Candidates from any area of behavioral and systems neuroscience, including sensory and motor systems, development, and learning and plasticity, are… read more about Job Opening: SINS Faculty Position »
Duke University, Durham, North Carolina. The Department of Psychology & Neuroscience at Duke University, invites applications for an Assistant Professor of the Practice position to begin in July 2017. This full-time regular-rank (non-tenure-track) position will have a primary focus on undergraduate instruction; the exact area of expertise is open. The ideal candidate would be a teacher-scholar with a Ph.D. in Psychology who can contribute to a wide range of undergraduate instructional needs, including… read more about Job Opening: Assistant Professor of the Practice »
The latest episode of the Sanford School's radio show Ways & Means features new faculty member Sarah Gaither's comments on race and her research on cross-racial communication. You can listen to it here: http://www.waysandmeansshow.org/episodes/2016/10/24/s2-episode-2-who-is-white Or subscribe to the podcast here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ways-means/id1061406250?mt=2. For more information on Dr. Gaither's work, check out her Duke Identity and Diversity Lab. read more about Who is White? »
P&N alumna Tovah Klein will be giving two talks for the Duke Graduate School on October 27th and October 28th. Dr. Klein is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Barnard College, Columbia University and Director of the Barnard College Center for Toddler Development. Dr. Klein is the author of How Toddlers Thrive and and the parent of three children. Her appearances on “Good Morning America” to share her expertise earned her the nickname “toddler whisperer.” She has also appeared on CNN,… read more about Dr. Tovah Klein »
Work by P&N's Kevin LaBar and colleagues is featured as lead story today on CNN Health. LaBar and his team have mapped the distinct patterns of brain activity that correspond to seven different emotional states while subjects are resting without external stimulation in an MRI scanner.. “It’s getting to be a bit like mind-reading,” said LaBar. “Earlier studies have shown that functional MRI can identify whether a person is thinking about a face or a house. Our study is the first to show that specific… read more about Mapping Emotions in the Brain »
P&N's Mike Tomasello co-authors a study demonstrating that great apes recognize when others have false beliefs. Read the story in Duke Today and in Science:https://today.duke.edu/2016/10/falsebeliefs http://science.sciencemag.org/content/354/6308/110 read more about Apes Understand That Some Things are All in Your Head »
The Department welcomes Gregory Samanez-Larkin, who will be joining P&N as a new assistant professor on July 1, 2017. Dr. Samanez-Larkin received his PhD in Psychology at Stanford University, and is currently an Assistant Professor of Psychology, Cognitive Science, and Neuroscience at Yale University. His lab examines how individual and age differences in motivation and cognition influence decision making across the life span. Their research is at the intersection of a number of subfields within… read more about Welcome Gregory Samanez-Larkin »
New P&N faculty member Elika Bergelson kicks off CCN's colloquium series with a bang this Friday, Sept 2, at noon, down in the "DIBS cube." Please be sure to join us for this occasion!Check out CCN's Fall 2016 Colloquium schedule here. read more about Elika Bergelson kicks off CCN Colloquium Series »
P&N welcomes our four new faculty members in 2016:Elika BergelsonSarah GaitherRita SvetlovaMike Tomasello read more about Welcome New P&N Faculty »
Jerome S. Bruner, an eminent psychologist and 1937 Trinity College Graduate, died Monday, June 5 at the age of 100. His work was crucial to the establishment of cognitive psychology as a discipline, but is also remarkable for its breadth, with major contributions to learning theory, developmental psychology, and education. Scott Huettel and Beth Marsh, Chair and Associate Chair of the Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, spoke with Bruner last year, after the department created the Bruner award in his honor… read more about Jerome S. Bruner, 1915-2016 »
P&N congratulates all of our September 2015, December 2015 and May 2016 PhD Graduates! Stephen Adamo Michael Barger Joseph Barter Pamela Buck Elena Goetz Davis Samantha Deffler Kathryn Diebels Emma Wu Dowd Anya Drabkin Sara Edmond Dawn Epstein Marissa Gamble Kurtis Gruters… read more about Congratulations P&N Grads! »
P&N's Samantha Deffler, Cassidy Fox, Christin Ogle, and David Rubin of the Noetics Lab explored why familiar individuals may call each other by the wrong name. For example, why does your mom call you your sister's name? They found that people tended to misname members of the same group - family members using the (wrong) name of other family members, and friends misnaming a friend with another friends name. They even found evidence that dogs are considered a part of the family... people called their family members by the… read more about Science explains why your mom calls you by your brother's name »
Congratulations to our students for a successful P&N/CNAP first year festival, which was held Friday in Perkins 217. The following students presented a diverse array of research topics:David Murphy, "Oscillatory Saccadic Eardrum Associated Responses"Emily Cherenack, "Sexual violence and self-efficacy for HIV disclosure among newly diagnosed HIV-positive men who have sex with men and transgender women"Zach Monge, "Functional Network Architecture Differences… read more about First Year Festival 2016 »
The Clinical Psychology Program is pleased to announce our doctoral student internship sites for academic year 2016 – 2017. The stress of “Match Day” is over! This year, P&N had a 100% match in clinical psychology internships. Congratulations to the following students, and best wishes as they prepare to move forward to the final stage of doctoral training in clinical psychology. Lindsay Anderson Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Karmel… read more about Clinical Psychology Internships 2016-2017 »
In 2015, members of the P&N community made news headlines on a weekly basis, including everything from groundbreaking research studies, news editorials, and numerous awards and honors. Here is a month-by-month glance at 2015. January Courtnea Rainey on goal-setting on the Graduate School's professional development blog February Kevin LaBar quoted in USA Today on Brian Williams's false memories Huffington Post: Ahmad Hariri's lab uses amygdala function to predict later… read more about 2015 P&N Year in Review »
The Psychology and Neuroscience department is pleased to announce that Martha Berg is the inaugural winner of the Jerome S. Bruner Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research. Dr. Bruner is an eminent psychologist who did his undergraduate work at Duke, graduating in 1937. His work was crucial to the establishment of cognitive psychology as a discipline, but is also remarkable for its breadth, with major contributions to learning theory, developmental psychology, and education. When remembering… read more about Martha Berg wins Jerome S. Bruner Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research »